1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to educational assistance tools and processes and, more specifically, to an interactive multimedia performance assessment system and process for use by students, educators and administrators for facilitating individualized performance and assessment of a student's academic development by permitting the student to prepare multi-media presentations which are demonstrative of classroom learning as well as providing a motivating vehicle for assisting the student in academic and educational development.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is well documented with various different types of systems and methods for facilitating the educational development of students. As is well known, the most traditional style of educating involves the use of grades and standardized test scores for representing each student's performance to parents, universities and potential employers. The basis for such teaching systems remains the teacher or professor who lectures to a group of students in conjunction with text material. Homework is assigned to reinforce the lessons taught in class and traditionally has been administered to measure a student's aptitude and ability to retain material.
In an attempt to improve upon the underlying concept of standardized teaching methods, certain interactive computer aided systems have been employed to assist the teacher in minimizing the repetitive tasks of preparing daily lectures, preparing and grading homework and documenting the individualized progress of each student. Example of such systems are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,267,865 and 5,441,415, both issued to Lee et al., which disclose educational methods and systems employing multimedia technology and including a plurality of student workstations which are connected, via a common LAN interface to a teacher's workstation. The teacher has the capability of selecting courseware specific to a given subject which is then transmitted to the individual student workstations and which is then responded to by having the students key enter answers to questions which are posed in the presentation and which may be graded and evaluated in a more efficient manner.
While disclosing useful interactive systems, the systems of Lee et al. are intended to only improve upon the efficiency of existing teaching methods and to theoretically reduce the effort necessary by the teacher in administering to larger groups of students. A major shortcoming of the traditional educational system, not addressed by the interactive systems of Lee et al., is that it does not do a very good job of subjectively and effectively analyzing a student's actual performance apart from traditional grading and standardized test scoring. A large part of this shortcoming is the inability of such standardized teaching methods and systems to permit the student to demonstrate his or her knowledge obtained in the course of classroom learning in some form of useful and creative outlet. The traditional methods of education, improved upon by Lee, rather are directed to more or less evaluating a given student within an overall group and without effectively examining and analyzing their respective strengths and weaknesses.